Age-appropriate chores for kids: a by-age guide

Age-appropriate chores run from toddlers tidying toys to teenagers cooking a family meal: at 2–3 children put toys away and drop clothes in the wash, at 4–5 they lay the table and feed the pet, 6–8s make their bed and empty the dishwasher, 9–12s cook simple meals and run the washing machine, and teens can take a whole job from start to finish. Match the task to what a child can genuinely manage, hand over a bit more each year, and expect mess along the way.

Toddlers (2–3): first little helpers

Chores at this age are about copying you, so keep them short and do them together.

• Put toys into a basket at the end of the day
• Drop dirty clothes into the laundry basket
• “Post” a wrapper or nappy into the bin
• Wipe a spill with a cloth
• Fill the pet’s water bowl (held with you)

Work alongside them and narrate what you’re doing. Keep sprays, capsules and anything swallowable well out of reach, and never rely on a two-year-old to remember a rule on their own.

Preschool (4–5): building the routine

Four- and five-year-olds love a job with a clear finish, and this is the age a small daily habit starts to stick.

• Lay the table — start with napkins and spoons, add plates later
• Match socks from the clean pile
• Water the plants
• Feed a pet from a pre-measured scoop
• Help load the washing machine and press the button

A picture chart on the fridge works well before they can read. No hot taps, no knives, and stay in the room for anything involving the machine.

Early primary (6–8): real responsibility

Most children this age can do a task properly if you show them once, then step back.

• Make their own bed (a duvet is far more forgiving than sheets)
• Empty the dishwasher — cutlery and plastics, while you handle the sharp knives
• Take the bins and recycling out
• Butter toast, pour cereal, sort a simple breakfast
• Sweep the kitchen floor

This is a natural point to start pocket money — 50p to £2 a week is typical, and tying a little of it to chores helps the idea land. Show once, watch once, then leave them to it and resist redoing it.

Tweens (9–12): running parts of the house

Nine- to twelve-year-olds can own a whole area of the home, not just one-off jobs.

• Load, run and hang out a wash
• Cook simple meals with light supervision — pasta, beans on toast, scrambled eggs
• Vacuum the downstairs
• Walk the dog on an agreed local route
• Strip and change their own bedding
• Pack their school bag the night before

Pocket money often sits around £2.50 to £5 a week now, and jars — Spend, Save, Give, Invest — suit this age: a tween can split their own money and watch the Save jar grow. Equal House’s money jars do that split per chore automatically if you’d rather not count coins.

Teens (13+): near-adult tasks

By secondary school a teenager can take full ownership of a task, including the planning and the clearing up afterwards.

• Cook a full family meal once a week
• Do the supermarket shop from a written list
• Iron, mow the lawn, wash the car
• Manage their own laundry from basket to wardrobe
• Babysit a younger sibling for a short, agreed stretch

Expect £5 to £10+ a week, and treat it as a wage for reliable work rather than a reward for the occasional favour.

How to hand a chore over so it sticks

The job matters less than how you pass it on.

• Show, do together, watch, let go — four short stages, not one lecture.
• Name the finish line: “table’s laid” is clearer than “help with dinner.”
• Praise the effort, not the result — a wonky bed made by a six-year-old is a win.
• Rotate the grim jobs so no one is permanently stuck with the bins.

That last point is where busy households quietly go unfair, with one person left holding the mental load of remembering who does what. A shared rota fixes it: Equal House’s Fairness Engine splits tasks by effort rather than a flat count, and Kid Mode lets children tick off their own tasks — no account needed.

For the wider picture, our household chores list marks which of the 53 jobs are safe for a child to take on — 29 of them — with a timing and an effort rating for each.

The bottom line

There’s no perfect age for any single chore — go by what your child can manage, add a little more responsibility each year, and accept it’ll be slower and messier than doing it yourself at first. Start small, stay warm about the mistakes, and within a few years you’ll have real help rather than another thing to nag about.